Creating Family Templates

Revit does not permit us to use Save As to create a Family Template unlike projects which can be saved as either a project or a project template. It's a bit like a strict parent that insists we go to bed at 8 PM no matter what, even if a TV show we really really want to watch is on at 8 PM.

Along the way, many years ago, someone noticed they could just rename the family to use the template extension .RFT instead of .RFA (family extension). The technique works as long as you don't have a desire to alter its structure (the file that changed from .RFA to .RFT) once you've started to create a family with it.

This means I can rename a family extension from .RFA to a template extension .RFT. Once it's changed I can create a new family by clicking New Family and choosing this special family template. While working on this new family (based on the template) I cannot delete any reference planes/lines or dimensions I created while it was a family (not a .RTE). When Revit opened the file it took ownership of all of "my work" while it was still just a family (using .RFA).

This means that if I want to start a new family based on this template but realize I need to alter the format a little, I have to return to the original "template/family" to do so. Once I've changed the extension to .RFA again I can alter the template's format freely. Any families I've created using the template can't be changed as extensively or freely.

There is no going back to a less well prepared format, at least not with the resulting family(ies). I can move and copy reference planes but I can't decide I don't need them any longer. Revit locks down the reference planes in the same way that the stock templates have done for the reference planes we find there. It protects those parts of the template file. This can be particularly confusing for other people when they come across a family and think they can reverse engineer it or start with this family to create something similar. It's confusing when they can't get rid of so many reference planes and dimensions.

Since I frequently have different things asked of me I just leave families assigned to the .RFA extension, those that I think of as templates. I add the word "template" to the name. This way I don't have to deal with switching the file extensions back and forth, which I find confusing. Which ones did I change, which ones did I leave alone? I just keep my templates in a separate folder. The hardest part for me is remembering to use Save As before I start messing with one. I could make the folder read only to make it a little harder on myself.

I recall slightly different results using past releases. This post is based on using Revit 2014.

Railing as Egress Paths

I've written about this before, egress stuff seems to be popular at times. A railing is a path and profile based element is easy to sketch something like the path to an exit. Straight and arc segments as well as even sloping conditions. Some of the other methods that I've written about here have the advantage that they can document the total length easily. A railing schedule will report the total length but we can't tag them with their total length.

Case-Apps to the rescue!

They've written a little application that is part of their larger suite of free, subscription and beta software for Revit. It's called "Send Railing Length to Selected Parameter".

Create a shared parameter called "Egress Path", add it to your project and assign it to the railing category. Sketch your railings disguised as egress paths. Now tag them. Oh right you can't show that value. Edit the tag family to create your own and use the same shared parameter. Reload the family and still nothing. Now use the Case app. It will let you select the parameter to use and plug the total length into each railing and that value will appear in your tags!

It's not automatic or fool proof. But it does make it a lot easier to consider a railing. If you like special graphics at the beginning and end of your egress paths then a railing is a bit fussier because you need some special "balusters" to get unique "symbols" at each end. Not impossible just a bit more work. Not necessarily more or less work than the other techniques, pick your poison!

While you are at it you should consider the rest of the pile of apps they have. You'll get their apps manager application which really makes it pretty easy to get and install them. I had both 2012 and 2013 installed in a few minutes after registering.

Thanks Case-inc guys! (wearing my T-Shirt as I write this, they gave me a shirt at RTC in Stone Mtn. in the interest of full disclosure)

Bending Railings to Your Will

Food for thought, what if we used railings for millwork and egress paths? By millwork I mean custom work, not fixed sized cabinets which are often referred to as casework by some architecture and interior firms). As for egress paths, I've written about them many times (I've put a list of those posts at the end of this one) in the past and the example of using a line based family kept me busy for quite some time with requests from people to get their own copy. Busy enough that I finally made it possible to download directly without needing to ask. I also recently mentioned the technique that Brian Mackey uses to demonstrate stair clearance using a railing, so that's yet another way to bend railings to your will.

A railing can do the same task as the egress path I've written about. That example only came about as a possible example of how to use the new line based family template (new in 2006), not something optimized for the task but it's worked pretty well over the years. If you consider applying a "person" profile to a railing, like for Brian's stair clearance, you've just got to sketch the path the railing takes. You can schedule the railing and provide a similar tagging approach to identify each path as different as well as display the total length. Give it a go?

Back to the idea of millwork. Railings are based on profiles, so are cabinets, at least when you are being really schematic. Obviously it won't really do the job for fabrication or construction documentation. If you want a fast way to "draw" millwork a railing works pretty well. A railing sketch is really tolerant of the path being straight or curved too. To get started you sketch the base cabinet profile, save it. Sketch the upper cabinet, save it. You can incorporate the counter profile in the base or make it separate. Load the profiles into a railing type and adjust some values and you can get something like this.

It works pretty well as long as you don't care about seeing drawers and doors. What you see in the image above is railings posing as millwork cabinets and face-based families (line work only) assigned to the Casework category.

It is necessary to keep the upper and lower cabinets separate otherwise you can't get them (upper cabinets) to show up above. In the plan view you see here I've temporarily turned on the underlay so I can apply the Linework tool to see the upper cabinet. Relatively small price to pay for the views that really need to see it.

The neat thing about this approach is that you can get schematic design info such as overall length of different millwork conditions via a schedule. Then when you are ready to dive deeper you can replace them or, as in the image, overlay face-based families to "finish" the detailing. One schedule (early) for schematic and  another (later) for a more detailed summary of cabinets pieces and parts. It isn't hard to make a railing look a lot like something else in a schedule. Just change the schedule title, rename the railing type, change the assembly code values and you've got a pretty convincing railing slash millwork. Maybe call it milling or railwork?

It won't satisfy everyone or maybe anyone...well it did make a few folks more content than they were a few years ago when we decided to do it.

Past Egress Posts (a summary)
Egress Path
Egress Path Update
Egress Path Tags - New Versions
Egress Path of Travel Uh Oh
Egress Example Update
Egress Regress
Egress Family Arc Version

Ceiling Grid in Navisworks

Revit doesn't export the grid pattern of ceilings when you export to Navisworks. The grid pattern is really just a "hatch" pattern, fill pattern in Revit lingo. No joy if you want to see the grid in your export to .NWC. I responded to a post at RevitForum.org last week with this approach to get a fairly realistic result in Navisworks.

I'm to inclined to distort the use of Sloped Glazing (roof tool).

The steps are as follows:

• Create a mullion type that is the dimensions or even the actual profile for the tee.
• Assign it to the Sloped Glazing roof type.
• If you want the wall "L" create a different mullion type for that, assign it to the boundaries.
• Assign the Empty Panel curtain panel type.
• Pick wall to define the boundaries of the "ceiling grid".
• Use a regular ceiling without a pattern set to the drop-in tile thickness and let them occupy the same space.

Get a little further carried away and use panels for the ceiling tiles. Put empty panels where non-hosted light fixtures should go in the "holes" for the lights. I used this approach a few years ago to render a room so I could experiment with getting better depth at the tile and tee edges etc.

Looks like the attached images:

Navis 3D view

Type Properties Dialog

Revit 3D View

Dept. of Workarounds - Inspiration

I saw this picture on There I Fixed It, an amazing collection of odd things and solutions to problems.

It made me think that I should use it as my "mascot" for Dept. of Workarounds.

Dept. of Workarounds - Revit MEP for Interiors?

I got an email from a past student this morning asking if there was some way to get the Copy/Monitor feature to work for Rooms. As an interiors firm they do most of their work in a separate model and this is a bit inconvenient when it comes to creating equipment schedules and report the location (room) information. Once upon a time Revit MEP had a Copy/Monitor that included Rooms. They replaced that with Spaces and HVAC Zones. These spaces are aware of rooms in a linked project.

See where I'm headed?? I can't copy/monitor rooms but Revit MEP can keep spaces in sync with rooms...soooo...uncomfortable workaround ahead:

What if "your" firm uses Revit MEP instead? You'd be able to link the architecture model in, places spaces where their rooms are.

 Once you've got Spaces where their Rooms are you can use the Space Naming Utility to keep the names and numbers in sync.

This tool is available from Autodesk Subscription though I can't imagine why it isn't just part of the software yet.

Equipment schedules can report Space Name and Number instead of Room Name and Number - though we'd keep them in sync and nobody but "us" would be the wiser?

What's the penalty to do the work in Revit MEP? No site or structural tools and a different interface layout than a user with RAC experience is used to. The lack of beams or columns might be a bummer, maybe not? It does beg the question, "Why isn't there a better way for firms to collaborate between their respective firms?" Well, not yet anyway. The "Xmas" wish list is a lot bigger than "Santa" has time and "elves" to prepare and deliver each year.

I created a short video to describe what I'm suggesting might suffice...mileage may vary...or you can listen and watch here.